Synopsis:The Hundred Tertons by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye is a history of the terma or treasure tradition of Guru Padmasambhava. It is the biographies of the visionary men and women who have, again and again, renewed the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition of Padmasambhava. It includes the biographies of Padmasambhava, his 25 disciples, Longchenpa, Jigme Lingpa, and many others. Considered a seminal work of Tibetan Buddhist history, the Hundred Tertons is available for the first time in English translation.

To understand why Jamgon Kongtrul wrote the Hundred Tertons, it is helpful to know the larger context of his writings. The works of Jamgon Kongtrul are collectively known as the Five Treasuries. These are the Treasury of Knowledge, the Treasury of Instructions, the Treasury of Kagyu Mantra, the Treasury of Vast Compositions, and the Treasury of Terma. The Hundred Tertons is part of the first 63 volumes (in its orginal publication) of the Treasury of Terma, usually called the Treasury of Precious Terma. Terma means treasure and includes both hidden teachings that are physically discovered and those that are revealed to the mind of the terton, or treasure revealer.